Crawler type work vehicles, such as excavators, are sometimes required to operate with the boom extending outwardly from a side of the vehicle. At this position, the moment arm of the boom functions to reduce the load that can be subjected on the boom owing to the width limits of the work base; i.e., the distance between the tracks.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,763,330 which issued Sept. 18, 1965 to K. F. Potter from an application filed Mar. 2, 1975 disclosed hydraulic means for connecting the track to the car body for hydraulic movement of the track outwardly from the car body and thereby providing a wider work base for the vehicle. Although this construction was of good design and functioned as desired, it was determined that if a mechanically operated system could be developed, the resultant system would be of more compact construction, would eliminate additional power equipment and requirements of the vehicle, and would be advantageous for use in remote areas where there is limited service available for repairing said vehicles. However, one serious problem to be overcome was to provide a mechanical system which would compensate for the additional strain that would be subjected onto extended tracks while reducing the possibility of the operator misaligning the track connecting system in the extended position and/or not fully connecting the roller frame to the car body.
This invention therefore resides in a connection system for mechanically, laterally adjusting tracks of a crawler vehicle.